It’s a bit of a tradition for Zoe to bury herself in the sand when at the beach; here are a few more photos from our most recent beach adventure.

-M

A few photos from our weekend in Santa Cruz, where we spent time at the beach and in our hotel’s hottub, played at the wharf, and visited the big whale at the Museum of Natural History – a place Zoe last visited when she was barely two. (Oh, how she’s grown since then!)

-M

I’ve written here before that Avery wasn’t exactly the easiest traveling baby; she disliked sleeping anywhere but her crib for her first year (or two?) of life, which led to some difficult, long nights for us when on the road. She has gotten a lot better but still has her occasional moments, like last night when we were in Santa Cruz for a little weekend get-away. She took forever to get to sleep – whining, crying and requiring more than 1.5 hours of us singing, bouncing, doing whatever in a pitch-black room to get her to settle down and not wake up her sister. (This is something we haven’t had to do in a long time, and it felt like having a newborn!) She also made me ask, yet again: Is traveling with kids even worth it?

Alas, the answer is in the photo below. We certainly would have had a more relaxing evening – and I wouldn’t have missed the second night of the Olympics – had we stayed home, but we wouldn’t have experienced this.

-M

One recent weekend afternoon Q took some shots of me and the girls just hanging around. Here are my favorites.

-M

A few days ago Zoe started talking about wanting another baby in the family. When I told her I didn’t think that was going to happen – “Mommy’s too tired,” I said – she had a solution. “Let’s get another mommy then,” she said, and went on to explain that I could take care of the baby once it came out of my belly, the new mom could take care of Avery, and Q could take care of her.

A very creative thinker!

-M

Several people have asked me lately about Zoe’s hair – was it as curly as Avery’s when she was her age? Not really remembering, I pulled up some old photos and got my answer! (This is her at three years, one month.)

-M

We take lots of pictures of the girls, but only once in awhile do I snap one that is an instant favorite. The picture below falls in that category; I think it’s the curls.

-M

Q and the girls woke me up this morning with several cards and presents. Zoe’s card, in particular, made me smile. Inside she wrote:

Happy Birthday

On the back is a beautiful picture for your birthday of Mommy and decorations. And I think you have will have lots of fun.

Love Zoe Browdy

We spent the weekend with one of Zoe’s dearest buddies, and she experienced some serious withdrawal when we got home. There were a lot of sniffles on the drive to camp this morning, and I must have heard “I miss Leo” at least a few dozen times!

(She takes after her sentimental mama, I’m afraid…)

-M

As readers know, San Francisco “summers” often call for sweaters and heavy jackets instead of sundresses and flip-flops. I’m always excited, then, when my girls get a taste of real, warm summer weather (hence our frequent trips to Phoenix) – and this weekend was no exception. We stayed with friends down near Palo Alto, and I loved seeing Zoe and Avery enjoy a quintessential summer treat: popsicles in the pool!

-M

We had a rough moment here this morning. I had been planning all week to keep both girls home with me today, but Zoe became upset with that plan – saying she wanted to go to camp instead of having our “girl bonding” day – at the last minute this morning. Normally this wouldn’t be that big a big deal, except I can’t get out of my mind the fact there are only six more weeks before Zoe starts kindergarten and we’ll have to say good-bye (at least for the school year) to our Friday mornings together. I really didn’t want to take her to camp today, but I also didn’t want to force her to have fun with me…

Luckily, it worked out. I kept my cool (unlike the last time we had a similar situation), she dried her eyes and we headed out for our girls’ morning without incident. And as we were strolling through the zoo, she looked up at me at one point and said, “This is way better than camp.”

-M

It was Pirate Day at the girls’ camp yesterday…

-M

A few recent Avery comments that made me smile…

-I explained to Avery one day that a particular pair of pants were for big girls – not for her. “But I’m not a little girl,” she told me with a frown. “I’m a big girl now!”

-After wishing her a good-night recently, Avery responded with “Laila tov.” And then, out of the blue: “I love sister, too.”

-I was hugging and playing around with Avery the other day, and I asked her if I was her best friend. “No,” she answered. “Who is?” I asked, and she responded with, “Zoe, my sister.”

-After a long, busy weekend morning recently, I carried Avery up to her room for a nap. It was well past the time she normally rests, and she must have felt it: “I’m napping so late,” she exclaimed. “I can’t believe it!”

-Avery was playing with her beloved pink blanket yesterday morning, and she pointed out that Grandma had recently fixed a hole in it. “That’s right – thank you, Grandma!” I called out, and Avery gave me a funny look. “Grandma’s not in our house!” she said with a laugh.

-M

A few days after having a kindergarten playdate, Zoe attended a preschool playdate – a little reunion of the kids in her beloved pre-K class. (She’s with two former classmates below.)

A mom-friend there told me that this time of her child’s life reminds her of that old saying: “Make new friends, but keep the old/One is silver, and the other gold.” How right she is!

-M

Zoe experienced another “first” yesterday, when she had a “blind” playdate with a soon-to-be kindergarten classmate. It went well (a little awkward at the start, but the girls were holding hands and asking for a sleepover by the end) – and I took a quick photo of Zoe when we got to the park to mark the occasion.

(I still can’t believe she’s about to kindergarten!)

-M